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Failure-mode index

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A searchable index of real negative results, null findings, and replication failures from the published literature — so you can learn what didn't work before repeating it.

WASTE indexes published research — it does not host or republish full papers. Each entry is a metadata record (title, authors, DOI) compiled from open scholarly databases, with the abstract shown in full only where the paper is openly licensed (e.g. Creative Commons); otherwise a short excerpt is shown for reference under fair use. WASTE classifies each work by failure type; classifications are automated and approximate.

19875 results in Negative / Null Result Report · page 452 of 663

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

When Does Critique Improve AI-Assisted Theoretical Physics? SCALAR: Structured Critic--Actor Loop for Agentic Reasoning

Vasilis Niarchos, Constantinos Papageorgakis, Alexander G. Stapleton et al. · 2026 · arXiv

As large language models (LLMs) show increasing promise on research-level physics reasoning tasks and agentic AI becomes more common, a practical question emerges: How does the interaction between researchers and agents affect the results? We study this using SCALAR (Structured Critic--Actor Loop for AI Reasoning), an Actor--Critic--Judge pipeline applied to quantum field theory and string theory problems. The Actor proposes solutions, the Critic provides iterative feedback, and an independent Judge evaluates the transcript against reference solutions. We vary the Actor persona, the Critic fee

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

I see artifacts: ICA-based EEG artifact removal does not improve deep network decoding across three BCI tasks

Taeho Kang, Yiyu Chen, Christian Wallraven · 2026 · arXiv

In this paper, we conduct a detailed investigation on the effect of independent component (IC)-based noise rejection methods in neural network classifier-based decoding of electroencephalography (EEG) data in different task datasets. We apply a pipeline matrix of two popular different independent component (IC) decomposition methods (Infomax and Adaptive Mixture Independent Component Analysis (AMICA)) with three different component rejection strategies (none, ICLabel, and multiple artifact rejection algorithm [MARA]) on three different EEG datasets (motor imagery, long-term memory formation, a

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Quantifying task-relevant representational similarity using decision variable correlation

Yu Eric Qian, Wilson S. Geisler, Xue-Xin Wei · 2025 · arXiv

Previous studies have compared neural activities in the visual cortex to representations in deep neural networks trained on image classification. Interestingly, while some suggest that their representations are highly similar, others argued the opposite. Here, we propose a new approach to characterize the similarity of the decision strategies of two observers (models or brains) using decision variable correlation (DVC). DVC quantifies the image-by-image correlation between the decoded decisions based on the internal neural representations in a classification task. Thus, it can capture task-rel

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

RLVR Training of LLMs Does Not Improve Thinking Ability for General QA: Evaluation Method and a Simple Solution

Kaiyuan Li, Jing-Cheng Pang, Yang Yu · 2026 · arXiv

Reinforcement learning from verifiable rewards (RLVR) stimulates the thinking processes of large language models (LLMs), substantially enhancing their reasoning abilities on verifiable tasks. It is often assumed that similar gains should transfer to general question answering (GQA), but this assumption has not been thoroughly validated. To assess whether RLVR automatically improves LLM performance on GQA, we propose a Cross-Generation evaluation framework that measures the quality of intermediate reasoning by feeding the generated thinking context into LLMs of varying capabilities. Our evaluat

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

A wearable anti-gravity supplement to therapy does not improve arm function in chronic stroke: a randomized trial

Courtney Celian, Partha Ryali, Valentino Wilson et al. · 2024 · arXiv

Background: Gravity confounds arm movement ability in post-stroke hemiparesis. Reducing its influence allows effective practice leading to recovery. Yet, there is a scarcity of wearable devices suitable for personalized use across diverse therapeutic activities in the clinic. Objective: In this study, we investigated the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of anti-gravity therapy using the ExoNET device in post-stroke participants. Methods: Twenty chronic stroke survivors underwent six, 45-minute occupational therapy sessions while wearing the ExoNET, randomized into either the treatment (ExoNET

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Polarization of the nuclear medium and RPA-type calculations in $K^+$ scattering from nuclei

J. C. Caillon, J. Labarsouque · 1993 · arXiv

In the calculation of the $K^+$-nucleus cross sections, the coupling of the mesons exchanged between the $K^+$ and the target nucleons to the polarization of the Fermi sea has been taken into account. This polarization has been calculated in the one-loop approximation but summed up to all orders (RPA-type calculation). This effect is found to be rather important but does not improve the agreement with experiment.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPhysics

Influence of Ta insertions on the magnetic properties of MgO/CoFeB/MgO films probed by ferromagnetic resonance

Maria Patricia Rouelli Sabino, Sze Ter Lim, Michael Tran · 2014 · arXiv

We show by vector network analyzer ferromagnetic resonance measurements that low Gilbert damping α down to 0.006 can be achieved in perpendicularly magnetized MgO/CoFeB/MgO thin films with ultra-thin insertions of Ta in the CoFeB layer. While increasing the number of Ta insertions allows thicker CoFeB layers to remain perpendicular, the effective areal magnetic anisotropy does not improve with more insertions, and also comes with an increase in α.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Dispersion of Klauder's temporally stable coherent states for the hydrogen atom

Paolo Bellomo, C. R. Stroud, · 1998 · arXiv

We study the dispersion of the "temporally stable" coherent states for the hydrogen atom introduced by Klauder. These are states which under temporal evolution by the hydrogen atom Hamiltonian retain their coherence properties. We show that in the hydrogen atom such wave packets do not move quasi-classically; i.e., they do not follow with no or little dispersion the Keplerian orbits of the classical electron. The poor quantum-classical correspondence does not improve in the semiclassical limit.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Production of entanglement in Raman three-level systems using feedback

R. N. Stevenson, A. R. R. Carvalho, J. J. Hope · 2010 · arXiv

We examine the theoretical limits of the generation of entanglement in a damped coupled ion-cavity system using jump-based feedback. Using Raman transitions to produce entanglement between ground states reduces the necessary feedback bandwidth, but does not improve the overall effect of the spontaneous emission on the final entanglement. We find that the fidelity of the resulting entanglement will be limited by the asymmetries produced by vibrations in the trap, but that the concurrence remains above 0.88 for realistic ion trap sizes.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPhysics

Assessment of valley coherence in a high-quality monolayer molybdenum diselenide

Yuto Urano, Xue Mengsong, Kenji Watanabe et al. · 2023 · arXiv

We investigate the valley coherence in high and low-quality monolayer MoSe2 by polarization-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The observed valley coherence is on the order of 10 % regardless of the sample quality, proving that the suppression of extrinsic effects does not improve the valley coherence. The valley decoherence time estimated based on the valley coherence time and exciton lifetime is sub-picosecond at the longest, which suggests that intrinsic scattering sources, such as phonons, strongly limit the valley coherence.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

R^2 Dark Matter

Jose A. R. Cembranos · 2010 · arXiv

There is a non-trivial four-derivative extension of the gravitational spectrum that is free of ghosts and phenomenologically viable. It is the so called $R^2$-gravity since it is defined by the only addition of a term proportional to the square of the scalar curvature. Just the presence of this term does not improve the ultraviolet behaviour of Einstein gravity but introduces one additional scalar degree of freedom that can account for the dark matter of our Universe.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Balancing forward and feedback error correction for erasure channels with unreliable feedback

Anant Sahai · 2007 · arXiv

The traditional information theoretic approach to studying feedback is to consider ideal instantaneous high-rate feedback of the channel outputs to the encoder. This was acceptable in classical work because the results were negative: Shannon pointed out that even perfect feedback often does not improve capacity and in the context of symmetric DMCs, Dobrushin showed that it does not improve the fixed block-coding error exponents in the interesting high rate regime. However, it has recently been shown that perfect feedback does allow great improvements in the asymptotic tradeoff between end-to-e

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPhysics

Slave-boson based configuration-interaction approach for the Hubbard model

G. Seibold · 2008 · arXiv

Based on the Kotliar-Ruckenstein slave-boson scheme we develop a configuration-interaction (CI) approach which is suitable to improve the energy of symmetry-broken saddle-point solutions. The theory is applied to spin-polaron states in the Hubbard model and compared with analogous results obtained within the Hartree-Fock approximation. In addition we show that within the infinite ${\cal D}$ prescription of the Gutzwiller method a CI approach does not improve the variational result since in the thermodynamic limit matrix elements between different inhomogeneous states vanish due to an 'orthogon

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Magnetic Moments of the Octet Baryons in the Colour-Dielectric Model

Moo-Sung Bae, Judith A. McGovern · 1995 · arXiv

Baryon magnetic moments are calculated in the colour-dielectric model with pion and kaon loops. The only free parameter of the model is determined from the nucleon isoscalar radius, and all SU(3) symmetry breaking, including that in the quark sector, is determined by mesonic masses and decay constants. Good agreement with experiment is obtained for the ratios of the magnetic moments, but the inclusion of kaons does not improve the results. The results obtained in this approach are significantly better than any that have been obtained in hedgehog-based models.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Fusion of Graph Neural Networks via Optimal Transport

Weronika Ormaniec, Michael Vollenweider, Elisa Hoskovec · 2025 · arXiv

In this paper, we explore the idea of combining GCNs into one model. To that end, we align the weights of different models layer-wise using optimal transport (OT). We present and evaluate three types of transportation costs and show that the studied fusion method consistently outperforms the performance of vanilla averaging. Finally, we present results suggesting that model fusion using OT is harder in the case of GCNs than MLPs and that incorporating the graph structure into the process does not improve the performance of the method.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Can long-range interactions stabilize quantum memory at nonzero temperature?

Olivier Landon-Cardinal, Beni Yoshida, David Poulin et al. · 2015 · arXiv

A two-dimensional topologically ordered quantum memory is well protected against error if the energy gap is large compared to the temperature, but this protection does not improve as the system size increases. We review and critique some recent proposals for improving the memory time by introducing long-range interactions among anyons, noting that instability with respect to small local perturbations of the Hamiltonian is a generic problem for such proposals. We also discuss some broader issues regarding the prospects for scalable quantum memory in two-dimensional systems.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Channels That Die

Lav R. Varshney, Sanjoy K. Mitter, Vivek K Goyal · 2011 · arXiv

Given the possibility of communication systems failing catastrophically, we investigate limits to communicating over channels that fail at random times. These channels are finite-state semi-Markov channels. We show that communication with arbitrarily small probability of error is not possible. Making use of results in finite blocklength channel coding, we determine sequences of blocklengths that optimize transmission volume communicated at fixed maximum message error probabilities. We provide a partial ordering of communication channels. A dynamic programming formulation is used to show the st

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Analysis of corrections to the eikonal approximation

Chloë Hebborn, Pierre Capel · 2017 · arXiv

Various corrections to the eikonal approximations are studied for two- and three-body nuclear collisions with the goal to extend the range of validity of this approximation to beam energies of 10 MeV/nucleon. Wallace's correction does not improve much the elastic-scattering cross sections obtained at the usual eikonal approximation. On the contrary, a semiclassical approximation that substitutes the impact parameter by a complex distance of closest approach computed with the projectile-target optical potential efficiently corrects the eikonal approximation. This opens the possibility to analyz

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

A New Random Coding Technique that Generalizes Superposition Coding and Binning

Stefano Rini · 2012 · arXiv

Proving capacity for networks without feedback or cooperation usually involves two fundamental random coding techniques: superposition coding and binning. Although conceptually very different, these two techniques often achieve the same performance, suggesting an underlying similarity. In this correspondence we propose a new random coding technique that generalizes superposition coding and binning and provides new insight on relationship among the two With this new theoretical tool, we derive new achievable regions for three classical information theoretical models: multi-access channel, broad

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Generalization of short coherent control pulses: extension to arbitrary rotations

S. Pasini, G. S. Uhrig · 2008 · arXiv

We generalize the problem of the coherent control of small quantum systems to the case where the quantum bit (qubit) is subject to a fully general rotation. Following the ideas developed in Pasini et al (2008 Phys. Rev. A 77, 032315), the systematic expansion in the shortness of the pulse is extended to the case where the pulse acts on the qubit as a general rotation around an axis of rotation varying in time. The leading and the next-leading corrections are computed. For certain pulses we prove that the general rotation does not improve on the simpler rotation with fixed axis.

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Does Pre-training Induce Systematic Inference? How Masked Language Models Acquire Commonsense Knowledge

Ian Porada, Alessandro Sordoni, Jackie Chi Kit Cheung · 2021 · arXiv

Transformer models pre-trained with a masked-language-modeling objective (e.g., BERT) encode commonsense knowledge as evidenced by behavioral probes; however, the extent to which this knowledge is acquired by systematic inference over the semantics of the pre-training corpora is an open question. To answer this question, we selectively inject verbalized knowledge into the minibatches of a BERT model during pre-training and evaluate how well the model generalizes to supported inferences. We find generalization does not improve over the course of pre-training, suggesting that commonsense knowled

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

On the Diversity Gain Region of the Z-interference Channels

Mohamed S. Nafea, Karim G. Seddik, Mohammed Nafie et al. · 2012 · arXiv

In this work, we analyze the diversity gain region (DGR) of the single-antenna Rayleigh fading Z-Interference channel (ZIC). More specifically, we characterize the achievable DGR of the fixed-power split Han-Kobayashi (HK) approach under these assumptions. Our characterization comes in a closed form and demonstrates that the HK scheme with only a common message is a singular case, which achieves the best DGR among all HK schemes for certain multiplexing gains. Finally, we show that generalized time sharing, with variable rate and power assignments for the common and private messages, does not

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Age of Information Upon Decisions

Yunquan Dong, Zhengchuan Chen, Shanyun Liu et al. · 2018 · arXiv

We consider an M/M/1 update-and-decide system where Poisson distributed decisions are made based on the received updates. We propose to characterize the freshness of the received updates at decision epochs with Age upon Decisions (AuD). Under the first-come-first-served policy (FCFS), the closed form average AuD is derived. We show that the average AuD of the system is determined by the arrival rate and the service rate, and is independent of the decision rate. Thus, merely increasing the decision rate does not improve the timeliness of decisions. Nevertheless, increasing the arrival rate and

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessPhysics

Decoherence in adiabatic quantum computation

M. H. S. Amin, Dmitri V. Averin, James A. Nesteroff · 2007 · arXiv

We have studied the decoherence properties of adiabatic quantum computation (AQC) in the presence of in general non-Markovian, e.g., low-frequency, noise. The developed description of the incoherent Landau-Zener transitions shows that the global AQC maintains its properties even for decoherence larger than the minimum gap at the anticrossing of the two lowest energy levels. The more efficient local AQC, however, does not improve scaling of the computation time with the number of qubits $n$ as in the decoherence-free case. The scaling improvement requires phase coherence throughout the computat

Negative / Null Result ReportMedicine

Uncharted Waters: Effects of Maritime Emission Regulation.

Hansen-Lewis J, Marcus M · 2025 · American economic journal. Economic policy

Maritime shipping emits as much fine particulate matter as half of global road traffic. We are the first to measure the consequences of US maritime emissions standards on air quality, human health, racial exposure disparities, and…

View details →DOI: 10.1257/pol.20220626
Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessEconomics, Econometrics and Finance

Testing the simplicity of strategy-proof mechanisms

Alexander L. Brown, Daniel G. Stephenson, Rodrigo A. Velez · 2024 · arXiv

This paper experimentally evaluates four mechanisms intended to achieve the Uniform outcome in rationing problems (Sprumont, 1991). Our benchmark is the dominant-strategy, direct-revelation mechanism of the Uniform rule. A strategically equivalent mechanism that provides non-binding feedback during the reporting period greatly improves performance. A sequential revelation mechanism produces modest improvements despite not possessing dominant strategies. A novel, obviously strategy-proof mechanism, devised by Arribillaga et al. (2023), does not improve performance. We characterize each alternat

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Optimal covariant quantum networks

G. Chiribella, G. M. D'Ariano, P. Perinotti · 2008 · arXiv

A sequential network of quantum operations is efficiently described by its quantum comb, a non-negative operator with suitable normalization constraints. Here we analyze the case of networks enjoying symmetry with respect to the action of a given group of physical transformations, introducing the notion of covariant combs and testers, and proving the basic structure theorems for these objects. As an application, we discuss the optimal alignment of reference frames (without pre-established common references) with multiple rounds of quantum communication, showing that i) allowing an arbitrary am

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

The Ay Problem for p-3He Elastic Scattering

M. Viviani, A. Kievsky, S. Rosati et al. · 2001 · arXiv

We present evidence that numerically accurate quantum calculations employing modern internucleon forces do not reproduce the proton analyzing power, A_y, for p-3He elastic scattering at low energies. These calculations underpredict new measured analyzing powers by approximately 30% at E_{c.m.} = 1.20 MeV and by 40% at E_{c.m.} = 1.69 MeV, an effect analogous to a well-known problem in p-d and n-d scattering. The calculations are performed using the complex Kohn variational principle and the (correlated) Hyperspherical Harmonics technique with full treatment of the Coulomb force. The inclusion

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

Analysing Lightweight Large Language Models for Biomedical Named Entity Recognition on Diverse Ouput Formats

Pierre Epron, Adrien Coulet, Mehwish Alam · 2026 · arXiv

Despite their strong linguistic capabilities, Large Language Models (LLMs) are computationally demanding and require substantial resources for fine-tuning, which is unadapted to privacy and budget constraints of many healthcare settings. To address this, we present an experimental analysis focused on Biomedical Named Entity Recognition using lightweight LLMs, we evaluate the impact of different output formats on model performance. The results reveal that lightweight LLMs can achieve competitive performance compared to the larger models, highlighting their potential as lightweight yet effective

Negative / Null Result ReportOpen accessComputer Science

HULAT at SemEval-2023 Task 10: Data augmentation for pre-trained transformers applied to the detection of sexism in social media

Isabel Segura-Bedmar · 2023 · arXiv

This paper describes our participation in SemEval-2023 Task 10, whose goal is the detection of sexism in social media. We explore some of the most popular transformer models such as BERT, DistilBERT, RoBERTa, and XLNet. We also study different data augmentation techniques to increase the training dataset. During the development phase, our best results were obtained by using RoBERTa and data augmentation for tasks B and C. However, the use of synthetic data does not improve the results for task C. We participated in the three subtasks. Our approach still has much room for improvement, especiall